Heat's 1st Step After LeBron James' Departure Is to Move out of His Shadow
MIAMI — When you're one of the most photographed men in America, you can be selective with your self-portraits, only posting those that say something significant to you.
Such was the case Monday, when LeBron James sent out a shot of his slimmer frame hugged by a gray suit, apparently the appropriate attire for some sort of acting shoot. But, in his caption, he chose to draw attention to something other than his physical being. Rather, he sought symbolism in the dark, sinewy shadow behind him, cutting across two elongated parking spaces in a sunny California lot.
"Throughout adversity, trials and tribulations. When you think you're alone know your shadow will stand tall and always have your back! #OverComeItAll #StriveForGreatness."
That's what the photo spoke to James, those 21 to 28 words, depending on how you count what he put inside the hashtags:
Perseverance and self-reliance.
But if every photo is worth 1,000 words, that leaves another 975 or so to spare. And so the Miami Heat, weary as they are already of reading and hearing and talking about James, might actually find something of value in this particular social media missive.
Do they see that shadow?
That's what they need to somehow get out of.
Or, at least, not get lost in.
No, it won't be possible for the Heat to entirely escape the past, not as James continues to be omnipresent. Short of turning off all of their televisions, radios, computers and smartphones—as well as turning away meddling media members—they can't avoid all questions about his departure, all highlights of his exploits and all comparisons to their current condition.
They can't change anything that occurred while he was with them, nor what they could have been had he stayed.
They can define, however, what they are now.
Pat Riley used the word "reinvention" even before James left, to characterize what some in the organization—from himself to Spoelstra to Dwyane Wade—needed to do, following the NBA Finals flameout against San Antonio.
But what was truly needed was reinvigoration. The team around James had gotten tired—emotionally, mentally, physically—and that ultimately wore on him, too, as he was often expected to carry them off the couch. As it turned out, it may have taken his sudden, unexpected departure to stir some from their sloth.
It seems that the Heat have spent the summer one-upping each other with their workout regimens, with five players—including newcomer Josh McRoberts—taking Wade's invitation to work out at Indiana University, and Chalmers and Norris Cole among those who have shared inside looks at their regimens with their social media following. And one who wasn't there, Chris Bosh, has been toiling tirelessly to tailor his game to his retro, expanded role, as he shared in this Bleacher Report story.
Nor have Heat players been shy about sharing their excitement about the upcoming season. They were shocked when James left, for sure; one player even lamented that he "got used to be looked at as the Heatles." They won't be, not like they were, not with James gone. But they seem to have come around to being hunters, rather than hunted.
Chalmers, in a recent interview with Bleacher Report, referred to "a totally different energy."
"Four years," Chalmers said of being targeted by the league and the public. "And now we're the forgotten team. So it's good. We all accept it. I've talked to D-Wade several times, I've talked to CB several times. We're ready."
That's what matters. Not hashtags like "#heatlifer," which Wade introduced and owner Micky Arison has embraced but which also can be taken as a backhanded dig at James. Not videos, such as the one Riley appeared in for Heat.com, strong-selling the fans on the organization's prospects after James.
What matters now is whether the current players and coaches, catalyzed by the doubts about their capabilities, can use that as fuel to be more. That Wade can be more than a part-time player. That Bosh can be more than a second or third wheel on a contender. That Chalmers can be more, much more, than he showed in the NBA Finals. That Luol Deng, with tread on his tires, can be more than he seemed during his uninspiring stint in Cleveland. That Danny Granger can be more than he's been since his first significant knee injury.
That Spoelstra can be even more than he was before James arrived, even though he did take two different teams, with only one star (Wade), to the playoffs.
Last spring, James described his leadership style this way:
"If you're a part of this culture, I believe you're here for a reason. Part of being a leader is making people also believe that sometimes they can do more than they actually can do. Giving them a sense of belief and confidence. And for me, I've always kind of done that. And I'm not downgrading what that individual can do. I'm just letting them know that they can do more than what they even thought they can do, and bring more to the game, and bring more to who they are as an individual than they thought they could."
Now those still part of the culture need to believe in his absence, that they can do more than they thought they could do. More than anyone else thinks they can do.
Further, they need to think and talk about him as little as possible—and if they do, only in the context of his absence allowing all of them to grow more. To expand their own opportunities. To demonstrate their own measure of self-reliance and perseverance.
To step out of his shadow some.
For the Heat, it's the only way to step forward.
Ethan Skolnick covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @EthanJSkolnick.
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